Starbucks famously built its brand as being the “third place” between home and office — a space to convene, relax and enjoy the coffee and Wi-Fi. The idea seems very old now, with the growth of the brand and the expansion of the category.

But the idea of places for downtime and in-between moments in cities and for business travel is valid, and innovators are running after the white space.

Many hotels already cater to the solo female traveler with women-friendly rooms, usually with extra safety measures like double-locking doors and finishing touches like flowers and chocolates. Homesharing, however, is a bit behind that curve.

Disruption in financial services has been a topic for as long as I can remember. I can vividly recall sitting in a Board room at New Jersey National Bank in ‘ 86 listening to one of our senior executives discuss how ATMs will disrupt financial services. Tens of thousands of ATMs later, we’re still talking about disruption in financial services, at the hands of fintech “disruptors”.

While the term “sharing economy” itself is a bit of a misnomer—sharing means giving something away, not exchanging something for money—there’s no doubt that it’s a growing trend meeting managers are keeping their eyes on, if not already using to some extent.

“Belong Anywhere.” It’s the invitation that Airbnb has used to instill its sharing spirit both in the hosts who list their homes on the peer-to-peer accommodations marketplace, and in the guests who use it to book stays. But in planning the third annual Airbnb Open, the company narrowed that approach to one speciﬁc place: Los Angeles.

But the bigger question is: Can Airbnb ultimately succeed in doing all of this, or does it risk a devaluation, a massive distraction, or something greater?

That’s exactly what we set to find out by speaking to a number of industry veterans to gather their thoughts on whether or not they think Airbnb can maintain its current $30 billion valuation and, perhaps, even grow beyond it to become that “super-brand” of travel that it aspires to be.

Can Airbnb continue to grow? If yes, into what? Or has it already reached the peak of its success as a company? Will it disrupt the online travel business in the same way as it disrupted the traditional hotel industry? What challenges lie ahead? Can it overcome them?

When Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, took the stage at the company’s third annual Airbnb Open, he was prepared to tell the crowd at Los Angeles’ historic Orpheum Theater about what he and his team have been working on since 2012: a way to reinvent travel with a new product called Trips.

Airbnb’s Chip Conley, head of hospitality and strategy announced that the popular vacation rental site would soon be appealing to an additional market, event planners and conference attendees. What does this mean for your business and how can you take advantage of what seems like a cost-effective way to land an amazing venue? Before you jump online and start scouting possibilities, there are a few things you should know.

Business travelers or travel managers will be able to book stays directly through Airbnb and travel managers will also be able to track and expense their employees’ bookings, similar to how they already track hotel bookings.

Airbnb is facing a lot of challenges these days, whether they be regulatory clampdowns in major cities like New York City and Berlin to the growing awareness of the potentially discriminatory pitfalls of its peer-to-peer platform. The latter has spawned an entire movement (just search for the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack on Twitter), given birth to a class-action lawsuit, and has spurred other entrepreneurs to launch their own versions of Airbnb that cater more to specific communities.

Onefinestay, the London-based alternative accommodations provider that specializes in high-end homestays, is on a roll lately. Fresh off its $168 million acquisition by AccorHotels, the seven-year-old company has major plans for growth, recently opening in Rome and planning to expand further in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific .

Over the past two years, global hotel chains such as Marriott and Best Western have aggressively pursued millennial consumers with the launch of sub-brands aimed specifically at the Airbnb generation of young urbanites.

As destination marketing organizations around the country come face-to-face with one of the biggest players in the collaborative economy, Destination Marketing Association International is gearing up to help members understand the issues, stakes, and questions around Airbnb and other short-term rental companies. Recently we caught up with Jack Johnson, DMAI’s chief advocacy and board compliance officer, to ask about it. He’s one of the new team brought in by Don Welch, who stepped in as DMAI president and CEO in April after leaving his post as head of Choose Chicago, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has announced a commercial agreement with community hospitality company Airbnb. The partnership will make Airbnb more accessible to GBT customers and allow the company to book accommodation on Airbnb for business travellers.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) released an updated report this week pulling from a survey of travel buyers and conversations with travel managers on the subject of extended stay accommodations. It found that while many business travelers prefer the amenities of an extended stay property, they still end up staying in a traditional hotel for long periods instead of serviced apartments or shared rentals.

When money changes hands, that’s selling, not sharing. This is the simple idea behind many observers’ objection to the term “sharing economy” when used to refer to companies like Uber and Airbnb.

But meeting planners may be about to ride a wave that truly is about sharing. At more than one recent industry conference, the idea of different events sharing elements of their meetings when they are in the same venue at the same time (or back to back) has been pitched as a way to save costs and resources.

Airbnb’s strengths can also be liabilities for many solo female business travelers.

The platform has grown increasingly popular every year because of its ability to connect travelers to local communities by offering a more immersive, authentic, and affordable travel experience for business and leisure travelers. It’s also a portal for self-discovery because it offers access into so many varied neighborhoods around the globe.

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